[Adrenomedullin in the kidney: physiology and pathophysiology]

Adrenomedullin (AM) is a potent vasodilatory 52-aminoacid peptide hormone, ubiquitous with multiple physiological effects which contribute to homeostatic responses. Significantly, it is distributed in the adrenal gland, lung, cardiovascular and renal system. The biological effects of AM are directly mediated by specific receptors as heterodimers composed of the calcitonin-receptor-like receptor (CLR) and one of two receptor activity modifying proteins (RAMP2 or RAMP3). The CLR/RAMP2 (AM1 receptor) is more highly AM-specific than The CLR/RAMP3 (AM2 receptor). Plasma levels of AM are elevated proportionately to the increase in blood pressure and degree of renal damage in patients with hypertension; likewise, these levels are correlated with the degree ofheart and arterial hypertrophy. AM has renal vasodilatory, natriuretic and diuretic actions; increased glomerular filtration rate and renal blood flow. AM inhibits proliferation and reactive oxygen species generation in mesangial cells; also inhibits aldosterone secretion in the zona glomerulosa and endothelin-1 in vascular smooth muscle cells. Therefore, it is proposed as a new marker in various diseases, especially chronic renal failure. This disease presents compensatory hypertrophy of the glomeruli and mesangial proliferation, administration of AM reduces the levels of proteinuria, suggesting that AM has an important modulator role in blood pressure and could be a therapeutic option for chronic renal failure.